“Makkah Emir Prince Mishal Bin Abdullah received at his office in Jeddah on Saturday Makkah Mayor Osama al-Bar. They discussed development projects being implemented in Mecca for the welfare of pilgrims and visitors, unplanned districts, land encroachments, compensation for expropriation of properties, the public transport project in the holy city, the Makkah Gate project and other issues. Al-Bar congratulated the prince on his appointment as the new emir of the province…………”
Okkkkkay. Expropriation of properties indeed. As for the fate of mecca and how the princes and potentates and their retainers and business partners have ruined its heritage, I refer you to the following links, if’n you are interested:
“Deputy Secretary General of MWM Allama Deedar Ali Jalbani and his guard were killed by unidentified gunmen in a drive-by shooting near NED university in the eastern neighbourhood of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, two days after two Shia youths were killed by sniper fire in central Karachi. “Gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on the vehicle of Allama Deedar Ali Jalbani, killing him and his guard,” senior local police official Pir Muhammad Shah told news agency AFP. He said the latest attacks were part of targeted killings aimed at fuelling sectarian violence. An MWM official, Nasir Hussaini, also confirmed the incident. Later, three Sunni Muslim preachers were shot dead outside a mosque in the North Nazimabad area of Karachi. “Four gunmen came on two motorcycles and sprayed bullets on the members of an Islamic preaching group outside a mosque. Three people were killed in the incident and the attackers escaped,” Aamir Farooqi, a senior police official, told AFP. Farooqi said that two men among the deceased were of Moroccon extraction………..”
You’d think besotted Pakistan has enough of its own sectarian Salafi preachers, Wahhabi terrorists, and suicide bombers. You’d think that after decades of Wahhabi petro-money and their shaikhs brainwashing two whole generations in their (misnamed) madrassas that it has enough talent among the local yokels. You’ think they don’t need to import any Frenchified dudes all the way from Morocco. You’d be wrong, apparently. Cheers
mhg
“An imam from a tiny hamlet on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast has run into trouble with the country’s powerful religious authorities — for his other life as a rock musician. Ahmet Muhsin Tuzer told AFP he is being investigated by the Diyanet, the state body in charge of the country’s mosques, over his activities. “I’m waiting for the results of the investigation but whatever happens I’m going to continue making music,” he said in a telephone interview from Pinarkoy, a tiny community near the Mediterranean beach resort of Kas. The Diyanet is looking to determine whether his form of music is compatible with Islam and whether his work as a musician conflicts with his role as imam, a government-funded post…………..”
Why not? Turkey is supposed to be a ‘free’ country. Allegedly. Cheers
mhg
Saudi Mufti Shaikh Al Al Al Shaikh has gone revolutionary, or so it seems. He has warned leaders of Islamic countries against imposing “restrictions” or insulting the “dignity” of their peoples. He urged leaders to build bridges with their peoples. He did not specify polygamy, taking many wives from many tribes, as a form of bridge-building either. He was apparently talking about something deeper.
Interesting, since in the past Shaikh Al has usually urged the people to obey and respect and love their leaders (except in Libya and Syria and Iraq and possibly Belize). The shaikh also called for some half-assed Islamic “union”, to be led by his princes, the very same princes the Caliph Omar, and two others, would have ordered publicly whipped for corruption on earth, and rightly so. If the Saudi case is an example, then he has no worry. The princes and their retainers rob and repress the people with the utmost respect. Those who object to being robbed and repressed are made to vanish with the utmost discretion, so discrete that you never ever hear a Western leader criticizing them, which is one way to show you’re being respectful.
“Two million Muslims have flooded into Saudi Arabia’s Mina Valley from Mecca for the start of the Hajj pilgrimage this week. Dressed in simple white garments and freed from their worldly possessions, they are following in the footsteps of the prophet Muhammad. But in Islam’s holiest city, there is increasingly little sign of the prophet’s legacy – or the frugal life he espoused. “The authorities are trying to destroy anything in Mecca that is associated with the prophet’s life,” says Irfan al-Alawi, director of the UK-based Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, who recently returned from a trip to the city. “They have already bulldozed the house of his wife, his grandson and his companion – and now they are coming for his birthplace. And for what? Yet more seven-star hotels.”…………..”
Notice that the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation is based in Britain, not in Hijaz. In Saudi Arabia, they would have some prince leading it: it would be like having a fox in the hen house. I have written earlier posts on this topic, how a combination, an alliance of royal greed and Wahhabi dogma has destroyed, is still destroying the priceless historical monuments of early Islam. It is downright criminal what the Al Saudi princes and their merchant allies and retainers are doing. Properties closest to the Kaaba are the priciest, and that is where monuments of early Islam were located. Ergo, these monuments were doomed once the Saudi princes set their eyes on that prime land, within walking distance to the Holy Mosques. Here are some links to my earlier posts on this:
What is all this with “Imams” these days? Nowadays it seems Muslim Imams are coming out of the woodwork. Suddenly I found out a few weeks ago that Shaikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi is calling himself Imam on his website. Now. More recently, they are calling the Shaikh of Al Azhar the Imam, nay the Grand Imam no less, of Al Azhar. Ali Al Sistani in Najaf does not yet call himself Grand Imam, and I hope he does not. Nor does the Saudi Mufti Shaikh Al, yet. but It is probably coming.
Historically and traditionally anyone who leads people in prayer, prays in front of them, is called Imam. That is what the Arabic “Imam” word means, someone who leads in prayer. It can imply wisdom and experience, but obviously not necessarily so. Even Generalissimo Al Sisi of Egypt can be called Imam one of these days if he leads people in prayer. He just might do that someday if things get tough in Cairo. Dr. Mohamed Morsi never did and we know where he is now. Mr. Erdogan of Turkey has not taken that plunge yet. Bashar Al Assad would never consider it: he knows it won’t work in Syria.
This “Imam” business is becoming a fad. Soon the former Shaikh of Bahrain, now self-styled King, will start calling himself Imam. Or maybe the prime minister will. King Abdullah may start calling himself Imam, although he does not lead in prayer. No, not Abdullah of Jordan, the other Abdullah. It will be a problem in the UAE: the rulers of the seven emirates can’t all be Imams. Most likely one of the Al Nahayan brothers. I was just thinking of the goateed Saad Hariri of Lebanon and…………never mind.
“The authorities in Saudi Arabia have begun dismantling some of the oldest sections of Islam’s most important mosque as part of a highly controversial multi-billion pound expansion. Photographs obtained by The Independent reveal how workers with drills and mechanical diggers have started demolishing some Ottoman and Abbasid sections on the eastern side of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. The building, which is also known as the Grand Mosque, is the holiest site in Islam because it contains the Kaaba – the point to which all Muslims face when praying. The columns are the last remaining sections of the mosque which date back more than a few hundred years and form the inner perimeter on the outskirts of the white marble floor surrounding the Kaaba. The new photos, taken over the last few weeks, have caused alarm among archaeologists…………….. Many senior Wahabis are vehemently against the preservation of historical Islamic sites that are linked to the prophet because they believe it encourages shirq – the sin of idol worshipping……………”
They have been at this for some years now. Nobody loudly criticizes them for it anymore. They have bought off the UNESCO and the British (Prince Chuck) and other Western governments: expensive arms deals and trade are more important than safeguarding ancient Islamic monuments. I have posted on this, several times. It is not only the Wahhabi dogma against any historic sites, nay against history. It is also greed: properties in Mecca that are near the Kaaba are valuable. The tear them down to build expensive 5-star or 7-star hotels and apartments and shopping centers. Greed combines with Salafi dogma to doom the ancient monuments of early Islam. Homes and mosques of the Prophet and some of his early followers have been destroyed and built over with new ‘properties’. No sense repeating. I shall provide the following links to some earlier posts on this topic:
“Supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a “religious obligation” of all Muslims, whether they live inside or outside of Syria, the country’s supreme religious ruling body said Monday. The state television quoted Grand Mufti Shiekh Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun as urging all Arabs and Muslims to fight so called “enemies of Syria.” The Assad government had recently claimed in an interview with The Sunday Time that it was the last “secular” state in the Middle East, reiterating that radical Islamists would come into power if the Alawite president was overthrown…………”
This from the Sunni Mufti of Syria, for what it is worth. Which prompted a prominent Saudi cleric to respond by calling him ‘evil’ and calling on ALL Muslim clerics to issue a common fatwa against the Al-Assad regime (but not against any other repressive Arab regime). Each of these sides, these schools of thought of (Sunni) Islam, the Syrian Mufti and the Al-Saud Wahhabi Mufti and ulema, supports its own regime. They are truly alike and consistent and similar. The Saudi ulema now claim the Syrian Mufti is ‘evil’. Yet he is saying exactly what the Saudi Mufti Shaikh Al Al Shaikh always says: going against the regime is un-Islamic and evil. He is saying what the Egyptian Muftis and the Shaikh of Al-Azhar said about the Tahrir protests two years ago: that they were un-Islamic. In Egypt the dust has not settled yet, but it is a homogeneous society and it has not gone through a civil war: not yet, hopefully never. Syria is another issue: Jihadist militias dominate the battlefield on the opposition side: maybe not just a straw that the regime clings to, more like an oar.
“ABU DHABI // An adulteress no longer faces being stoned to death after proving to a court she is not a Muslim. J D, from the Philippines, admitted adultery at the Criminal Court today but told the judge that she was a Christian. After the judge confirmed her statement from his case files, he cancelled an earlier decision to appoint a defence lawyer to represent her. If the woman had been a Muslim, she would have faced the possibility of being stoned to death if convicted of adultery. But Sharia penalties apply only to Muslims, so she now faces a minor custodial sentence and deportation…………”
Interesting interpretation of this barbaric sentence of stoning adulterous women. It is usually women who get stoned, mainly because they tend to confess quicker under beatings and other forms of intimidation. The man, the jack-hole, can deny it, especially in a case of rape where the woman is the injured complaining party. That is what often happens, that is why they don’t have many court rape cases in some countries, like Pakistan. Fear. I suspect they have mild sentences for some ‘expatriate’ women because it is good for the tourist business. I also imagine any Muslim woman faced with a sentence of stoning to death might want to convert to avoid it. Wouldn’t you? But then she would face the possibility of being charged with apostasy (riddah) and a sentence of beheading under the bright Abu Dhabi sun. Damn if you do, damn if you don’t.
(FYI: there is nothing about stoning in the Quran. We probably got this barbaric type of punishment from the Old Testament. That means from you people, indirectly). Cheers
mhg
Iranians seem to have a knack for producing controversial historical films about ancient Prophets, with actors depicting these ancient worthies. Naturally any historical film in the Middle East, especially about the Prophets of Islam and Christianity and Judaism, is controversial. The Ten Commandments is still banned in all Arab states, but then so is Sodom and Gomorrah and Ben Hur; even Lawrence of Arabia is banned although I never knew T.E. to be a prophet. The last one was about Joseph (son of Jacob, not the carpenter), which had Salafis attack some television studios in North Africa for showing it. Among many Muslims, well among some of us Muslims, such depiction is considered blasphemous. Among Wahhabi Salafis, any depiction or facsimile or controversial mention of any ancient character other than Saudi kings and princes is considered blasphemous. Iranian mullahs, apparently, are not of that “blasphemy” school of thought where films are considered. Now it seems the “big no no” is being tested. A dusty organization called the International Association for Muslim Ulema (a bunch of clerics), wtf that be, has protested against the plans of an Iranian film company to produce a film representing the personality of the Prophet Mohammed. The clerics, located at Mecca, are pissed and have asked the Iranian government to prevent production of the film, to be simply titled “Mohammed”, and ban its showing. The ulema said that such film will besmirch the high status of the prophet and will harm his position and may even expose the Prophet to “ridicule”. The ulema noted that it is taboo to have prophets impersonated by actors. No doubt the ulema have not read the script for the film (nor have I). But the ulema in Mecca are always pissed about something, except repression and the mind-boggling corruption around them in the Holy City and in the whole kingdom. I think the only ridiculous characters here are probably these clerics who are afraid of anything new, of their own shadows. As for the taboo on actors impersonating the prophets, perhaps they can get a Saudi prince top play the role: he won’t be taboo. Now that Charlton Heston, with his cold cold hands, is dead. Cheers
mhg
